THIS PAST Friday night, I, along with several other University students, attended an off-Grounds party held by three Architecture school students. These students sent out an e-mail through the University mailing list to all Architecture students and described the theme of this party with racially coded terminology. While their party invitation made no overt reference to race, both their e-mail and subsequent party evoked racial stereotypes, which mirror the usage of caricatures seen during the pernicious practice of minstrelsy.
Minstrel shows started in the 1830s and were widely popular up through the 20th century. In this, actors would dress up in tattered clothing or other stereotypical outfits, sometimes use make-up to exaggerate the sizes of their lips or eyes, and even paint their faces black, which all were attempts to appear to be African-American. Minstrel shows parodied the daily existences of African-Americans in "romanticized" settings, such as watermelon patches, chicken coops or the slave plantation. The minstrel show was racially coded in an assortment of ways, and these practices were seen by many as humorous and based upon real life.
Sadly, Friday night's party was reminiscent of the minstrel show whether the hosts realized it or not. The hosts encouraged "all playaz and chickenheadz," male and female party-goers, to showcase "only the latest and greatest in urban neckware (even if it be'z homemade)." The e-mail went further to state, "There will be an award given to the dopest medallion." Consequently, party participants wore exaggerated necklaces made of gaudy costume jewelry, a rawhide bone (thus becoming "Bone Thug"), or even a toilet paper roll.
Moreover, the party-goers paraded around, jokingly addressing the aspect of violence in urban life. For example, one of the party attendants had on a thin, white tank top, in the style often worn by African-Americans, and it read, "Kiss me. I'm thuggish." Others even had homemade medallions, consisting of toy semi-automatic weapons. Their parody of urban violence was egregrious and simply not comedic.
The racially coded theme of the party continued in various other ways. In addition to the keg of beer at the party, the party's hosts offered 40 oz. beers, a stereotype of black social life. Some had "do-rags" tied around their heads or their baseball caps turned to the side. A few others used magic marker to print tattoos on their arms. The party's theme clearly allowed the participants to stereotype African-Americans, and therefore the hosts helped to create an atmosphere full of hurtful exaggerations and shear ignorance.
Friday night's party exemplifies modern-day racism. Overt acts of racism, such as the usage of racial epithets and KKK cross burnings, in many cases, are no longer politically correct. Rather, covert racism, which, by definition, is subtler than overt racism, is more applicable when characterizing today's society. We all know that stereotyping is racism in that it demonstrates racial prejudice. Covert racism takes the form of less blatant stereotyping or efforts to marginalize a particular race. In some cases, these efforts may have other motives on the surface, which seemingly justify the bias; nevertheless, the person or institution may perceive someone in a bigoted fashion and thus practice covert racism. Occasionally, covert racism occurs without the offender even realizing his or her own racism.
In the case of Friday night's party, the partygoers and hosts demonstrated both overt and covert racism. Their overtly racist caricatures of black life were modern versions of the minstrel shows of the past. The violent, 40 oz. guzzling African-American with a huge medallion, "do rag," and several tattoos is a stereotype no less hurtful than minstrel shows' depictions of the mammy or Sambo. The covert portion of their racism was far subtler. Perhaps the party-goers and hosts felt that they were not being racist, because they offered us, several African-American students, 40 oz. beers and some place to put our coats. Yet, we cannot permit ignorance or hospitable acts to excuse or mask racism. Their stereotypes were offensive and deleterious to the race relations of the University community.
Although this was a private party, the party hosts used a University mailing list to send the invitation out to all Architecture school students indiscriminately; students of all races received this racist e-mail. This e-mail, coupled with the attendance of several Architecture School teaching assistants, have created a racially hostile environment for students' learning. University officials should act now to address the offenses and prevent the usage of University resources to produce such a hurtful experience. Surely, no student should have to learn in such a racially tense atmosphere.
(Tim Lovelace is a third-year College student. He will be the student member on the Board of Visitors next year.)
Read More
UPADHYAYA: The Great and not-so-Good sides of U.Va.’s 2030 housing plan
By Apal Upadhyaya | YesterdayInstead of improving the dire state of existing infrastructure, however, the University has shifted attention away from it and chosen to expand.
EDITORIAL: Support low-barrier shelters in Charlottesville
By Editorial Board | 2 days agoInvesting in low-barrier shelters now will pay off in increased stability for the homeless, which will undoubtedly improve the safety of shelters and the community writ large.
SHRAUGER: McIntire’s three-year model limits opportunities for first-year students
By Alex Shrauger | 4 days agoBy pigeonholing students into commerce so early, the University violates its own mission of providing a holistic education that produces students capable of succeeding in a variety of fields.
